4th House
Definition
The 4th house is an angular house — one of the four "corner" houses — and it begins at the Imum Coeli, or IC, the lowest point of the chart. The IC is where the path of the Sun crosses the meridian (the north–south line) below the horizon. The 4th house sits at the very bottom of the chart, directly opposite the Midheaven (MC) at the top. In whole sign houses, where each house is a whole zodiac sign, it is the fourth sign counted on from your rising sign.
In Tradition
Astrologers read the 4th house as the house of home, family, your roots and ancestry, and the foundation your life is built on. Hellenistic astrologers called it the subterraneous place — the place below the earth — and tied it to parents, property, hidden matters, and how things end.
In Practice
In a birth chart, astrologers look to the 4th house for your relationship with home, the family you came from, and your emotional foundation. The IC and the ruler of the 4th house describe what your private life and home environment are like. In horary astrology, which answers a question from the chart of the moment it was asked, the 4th house covers the asker's home, property, father, and how the matter will turn out in the end. In mundane astrology, which reads charts for nations, it governs land, property, farming, mining, and buildings.
Historical Origin
The 4th house is one of the four angular houses recognised in the earliest Hellenistic texts. In the scheme of Manilius it was the temple of Saturn, who linked Saturn's fatherly authority to this house. Classical sources connect it with parents, property, land, hidden treasure, and the end of life.
Further Reading
- Howard Sasportas, The Twelve Houses
- Deborah Houlding, The Houses: Temples of the Sky
- Robert Hand, Horoscope Symbols